Until next year....

Even though the OAEA conference is over, the excitement and ideas are still buzzing around my head!! I love the recharging and inspiration that conference brings and I love the process on the days after of brainstorming and figuring out how the creative genius I just experienced can be worked into my own classroom. Not even kidding here, but I have a list of over 35 things already and I haven't even started going through my notes.

 My friend and fellow OAT Mary H and I presented on k-12 sculpture and we hope everyone will try a little sculpture in their own classrooms. We had a ball and hope that everyone walked away with a little knowledge and  inspiration of their own. In less than an hour and 45 minutes pretty much everyone made away an armature coated in Plastercraft and a started modeling with the paper clay! AND bonus for me I had a former student in the workshop!! I am starting to feel really old now! Tons of people to thank for all of their help so a big thank you to Cameron D, Leah S, Ashley R.and the biggest thank you to the woman known as Rader for getting coffee, water and taking pictures and helping in every way possible. A huge shout out and thank you to Katie Cahill of Sax/School Specialty for her donations and work as well!

               

         

OAEA Conference 2013 Toledo Bound!

This year the Ohio Art Education Association is hosting their annual conference in Toledo, Ohio and the theme is "Reflecting the Standard".  Along with another fellow arts educator, Mary Haas from Eastern Elementary, we are presenting a 2 hour workshop on sculpture k-12 in the classroom. One of my finished example pieces is a frog since Toledo has a theme of frogs in many of their arts venues and around town. I am excited to present for so many different reasons. Mainly because it is always fun to share out what my kiddos can do and have done and because I LOVE sculpture in the art room!! Please enjoy a few of the in progress works below from my students! All of the works are made from a newspaper/cardboard armature and a plaster gauze and paperclay exterior. More images to come!

Hurray for Paperclay!!!

I think that Paperclay is the wonder medium. It deserves it's own superhero cape in the world of sculpture materials. It can be modeled, painted on, molded, cast and recycled and it is fabulous for high school students. I think it could be adapted for many grade levels though depending on the project and your budget.

Wait....you have never heard of Paperclay? Paperclay is an air dry modeling medium that is water based and can be cleaned up easily, dries in 24 hours and works a lot like clay.  You can make your own, there are several recipes on the Internet that use easy to locate materials, but I can not testify for their quality.  I have used a variety of brands but I personally prefer one from School Specialty. It is Sax Paperclay. As far as the cost per student and per project it really can vary. I spend less than $4.00 per 1 lb block of paper clay. The students use what they need, put back what they don't. We have used it to create all kinds of sculptures, jewelry pieces, ornaments, figurines. Anything you really can think of.

A few tips:
1. You can use solid Paperclay to mold an object or you can apply it over an armature. We usually apply it over an armature of newspaper and tape covered in Plaster gauze.
2. You can recycled the Paperclay if it has dried out by soaking it in water. You can create slip if you use more water than Paperclay and stir. Although, you will be stirring for a while.
3. Use water to attach the paperclay to the armature, also a wet sponge or papertowel will help to smooth out the texture.
4. Apply it in thin layers so it doesn't crack. It doesn't crack normally but if it is too thick all that moisture has to get out somehow.
5. You can sand the Paperclay to smooth it out but it needs to be wet sanded.
6. Acrylic paints are fantastic to finish it off with. Just apply them in thin layers so that they don't get too glossy.

If you try it, please let me know what you think!

Still life season: Don't forget to renew your artistic license!

It is here and I have to admit I am anxious for it to be over already. Still life season. The weeks in the year where nothing gets put away where it SHOULD go, the room is in total disarray and my desk becomes completely lost for the remainder of the school year. So long fancy glitter desktop that I spent a week coating and layering.....I won't get to see you again until probably June. I should explain why the room transforms into a possible episode for the show Hoarders. I don't set one still life, I don't set two still lives, technically I don't set any, but in my room there are 7 still life sets AND many students set up a personal still life as well. So there is no counter space, extra table space or any extra space period. Which, in a classroom where there are almost as many sculpture students as introduction to art students that can be issue when it comes to storage space and places to put "stuff."

                      Getting back to the part where I don't set the still lives anymore........I bring in boxes and boxes of interesting items junk for the students to peruse. We spend almost a whole week setting them. A day or two "playing with the items and arranging them at seats and then begin placing them in a final setting over the next few days. While they are setting them they start creating thumbnails, and then begin final sketches in pencil, charcoal and also white charcoal on black paper. During this time we also talk about what a still life is and why artists have used them forever.  We begin discussing what makes an artwork successful, and how the arrangement and the objects of the still life can affect the final drawing. We look at what might be communicated to the viewer of the artwork.  Then we brainstorm lists of "have to find" items to truly complete their sets and finalize their message.



I am a firm believer in the idea that students will do better if they draw what they love, if they have a say in what they use to draw with and if they feel that they have ownership over the whole process............and why shouldn't they. Honestly, it is more enjoyable for them and less stressful for me to allow students to set them and the majority of the time they are better than what I would have tossed out there all on my own. And the really cool thing is that it is a perfect example of practicing 21st century skills (Collaboration, Creativity, Communication), not just with me but with their classmates and between classes as well and they still have the opportunity to have their independent and individual style show through in the final work. 2 more weeks and we will package up and put it all away, ending the season. But who am I kidding, we will still be a top contender for Hoarders: Education Edition.


 

The year has begun!! Every year my students have less than 2 class periods to design and create their name tags for their shelves. With my new students it gives me an idea of their creativity and work ethic. With my older students it is always a surprise!! I should note, the available supplies are construction paper, glue sticks, scissors and tape! I hope you enjoy!

NEW APRONS!!!!!!

WOOOOHOOOOO What you are lucky enough to not see is the happy dance I am doing right now!!! While I realize this might just be me...I absolutely love  my aprons in my classroom..... It is a small obsession of mine. They can hide a multitude of fashion faux pas, spilled coffee, and previous art and non art stains.......and today I scored two of the cutest ones at WAL-MART. (Wal-MArt may be one of my least favorite places to go to ever.....especially during the day...and during back to school. It is always packed and I am slightly claustrophobic when I go there. They are Absolutely adorable....and the price was right too!! Less than $8.00 each! BOOM!

 I went on an apron hunting kick this summer and discovered that there are a lot of really expensive aprons out there. Some for over $400 each!!. I am not sure if I will bling these up or not. I do want to add a snap on the neck but I already know I am swamped so chances are it will never get done which is also why they probably won't get any bling. I also have ordered new classroom aprons as well for my students!! Can't wait to get those. The printmaking students are going to silkscreen a class logo on them (they just don't know it yet!) Last year my two favorite aprons were the Foo Fighters apron I made and the Starbucks green barista apron which I scored on Ebay. I Also have 6 plain white canvas ones to DIY for later this year!!Down to 11 daysbefore these babies can be on display and in use!!!!

Back to School!! THANKFULLY!!!!

Yes, I said thankfully and back to school at the same time. YES, I am a teacher. So, why on earth would I be excited about back to school? I will tell you. It is more than just my awkward and weird love of the smell of new paper, new sharpies, fresh coffee, shiny waxed floors, having a real reason to be up at 5 am and I can't forget my new aprons.This summer has been CRAZY. A new-ish puppy along with my hubby and his partners starting a new business, ...well.....my routine is all out of whack and truth be told...I miss the creativity of all my kiddos. I have "Pinterested" till my eyes hurt, I have redesigned my curriculums,  I have reorganized my house-albeit not by choice(2 floods in June and July)-till I have no more organizational spots of genius left in me(or money left in my budget for totes and bins and Clorox), and I am ready for some normalcy.....and I AM really excited for some of the projects I have planned.

 My intro classes have almost all new lessons planned in pretty much every area, and my sculpture kids well, some of them actually started over the summer collecting their gear for the annual assemblage project which this year, involves a new twist. Printmaking has been revamped and the crafts kids will be pleasantly surprised this year. I am so excited to roll out the new stuff! AND I get to meet my new homeroom freshman class!!  I have so many ideas for their first week that I hope they will enjoy. I know I will, I mean what is not to love about mustaches, top hats and feather boas....a photo-booth, cup cakes, and  special invitations.

AND I get to do it all in a newly reorganized classroom-this time the reorganization was by choice. And I did make at least one classroom example to replace some of the ones that were destroyed. My sock doll Melton-who is a grilled cheese and spicy pickle aficionado and my rolling "lightening bug" finally was finished from my May workshop with Michael DeMeng.

Two weeks....that is all that is left of my summer, Two weeks that is all the time I have to "relax"..and two weeks...... is all I have left in my 30's. As crazy as this final summer of my thirties has been, I don't think I would have changed any of it........well, except for maybe the floods.